The First Test
I have been looking into my crystal ball this week and it has become apparent that one of the first big questions that will face the newly seated County Commission will be that of repair and renovation to Building 8 of Jefferson County High School. Actually, anyone who attended the most recent School Board meeting knows that this is on the horizon. The mystery lies, not with the question, but with the answer. I think that this will be tough for even the most party line voter and it is one that blurs the lines.
Do the Vocational students at Jefferson County High School and the educators that serve in that area deserve a renovated, not just repaired, facility? Yes. They do. In fact, they did all along, which is why I, along with many others, scratched my head at their blatant absence from the original renovation plans for Jefferson County High School. Vocational areas need to be up to date, in equipment and instruction, in order to prepare competitive graduates from their programs. Less than 20% of the students that graduate from Jefferson County High School will get a post graduate degree. Less than 20% are considered college and career ready according to recent testing information. Jefferson County High School needs to be able to put out graduates that can get a job and that just isn’t happening right now.
The rub is the funding of this upgrade. Some Commissioners are going to question using funds that were allocated for other school system repairs and projects (Capitol Projects) that were deemed necessary enough to ask for specific funding on Building 8. Currently the proposal is to use Capitol Project funds and insurance money, plus a little from the County Commission, for repairs. I believe that most members of the County Commission are concerned about getting Building 8 up and running but I am afraid that process will get in the way. Some will consider that these previously proposed projects, that were funded by the County Commission but never completed, were simply a ruse to pool funds. Are they right? I don’t know. It is convenient that there is just about enough to cover the repairs, when the Capitol Projects funds are combined with insurance money. Fortuitous coincidence or careful planning? Not even Scooby Doo could solve that mystery.
But, the big question of the day will not be the cost of repair. It will be the, currently unknown, cost of renovation. It will be a tough pill for some to swallow if the tab comes back high. Significantly higher is a term that has been used but no figure has been attached. Do they bite off more and give the Vocational students the same consideration that they have given the rest of JCHS? Yes or No some one is going to be mad either way they go.
This will likely be some Commissioners’ first real dip in the hot waters of politics. If I were to look into my crystal ball, I think that I would see funding the renovation in the future, provided that it comes in at a reasonably palatable cost. Where I see the rub coming is in other Capitol Project requests that might be presented down the road. Once bitten, twice shy. Fool me once…ect. I just hope that this Commission remembers that students should never be held accountable for adult’s mistakes or suffer for political pressure. Jefferson County students face tests everyday. This will be this Commission’s first and it looks like a doozy.
